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To the Editor:
I have a question for Ms. Carol Morin (author of “School Bus Driver Supports North County Bus Facility,” April 2008
Tropical Breeze).
There is one equation you left out of your argument for the facility. Where do YOU live Ms. Morin?
The people who live in this area have so much traffic now, we can’t get out to the Main Street. You mention noise — fire station, ambulance, guns. Yes, we have plenty of noise. Your assumption being, a little more won’t hurt us. Sorry, we need our quiet, too.
Most of us have a problem with functions we have to do to do our jobs. It’s part of the job. Give us solutions, not why it’s better for the individual.
We are talking 300 buses, not 25. We are talking maintenance, not just loading and driving. You don’t have to backup, they will, in order to arrange the buses. This work will be all day and night. The beeping will be continuous..
In order for the buses to be filled with diesel, there would have to be a tank put in the ground to contain it. How many of the drivers are as concerned as you when putting their fuel in? How much leakage of freon, oil and other chemicals — soap used in washing the buses, grease for the maintenance of the buses — is going to go into the bay and the inlet to Tarpon. We are polluting our world enough.
There must be a solution to this problem. We have qualified people in our school system. Take a good look at the routes. What can we do better? What are we doing wrong? How are we going to pay for this? How many people will also use their cars to get to the facility? What about the mechanics who will be working on the buses, they also have cars? You will have to have an office, more cars. This is not an easy problem to solve, but I have faith our administration will see this is not the solution.
Let’s put our heads together and really look at the problem. Are we working smart or are we working easy?
In reference to the safety of our senior citizens. We are not children. We are not going to wait for you to clog up the roads with large buses, which by the way, have no seat belts, are slow and put our lives in control of one person. When we are told we are in danger, believe me, we will get out. We have the life experience to know what is good for us, we don’t have to be herded like small children without common sense.
Sincerely,
Luella C. Mauge
Safety Harbor
Editor’s note: Pinellas School Superintendent Clayton Wilcox late in April canceled plans for the bus facility, citing an ever-rising price tag and community opposition.
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